discard

verb dis·card \ dis-ˈkärd , ˈdis-ˌ \

|Updated on: 15 Aug 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: discard in a Sentence

Definition of discard

transitive verb

1 : to get rid of especially as useless or unwanted

a pile of discarded tires

They quickly discarded the idea.

2 a : to remove (a playing card) from one's hand (see ¹hand 9a(2))

discarded an ace

b : to play (any card except a trump) from a suit different from the one led

intransitive verb

: to discard a playing card

discard at the end of your turn

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discardable

play \-də-bəl\ adjective

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discarder

noun

See discard defined for English-language learners

See discard defined for kids

Examples of discard in a Sentence

Remove and discard the stems.
a pile of discarded tires
She discarded the six of hearts.

Recent Examples of discard from the Web

Now that Republicans have largely discarded the blue-slip tradition for federal appellate judges, there’s no reason why Democrats should abide by it.

— matt ford, The New Republic, "Do the Democrats Even Want Power?," 20 June 2018
Billiel included photos showing trash, discarded syringes, graffiti and holes in the playground surface.

— don stacom, Courant Community, "Facebook Complaint Of 'Destroyed' Pope Park Playground Draws Response From City Official," 10 June 2018
Most other rocket makers discard their boosters in the ocean.

— marcia dunn, Houston Chronicle, "SpaceX's big new rocket blasts off, puts sports car in space," 6 Feb. 2018
Fresh human excrement and discarded needles lie scattered on the streets of the Tenderloin district just a few blocks from the five-star hotels of Union Square in the city’s downtown.

— The Economist, "Can a new mayor fix San Francisco’s housing and homelessness problems?," 31 May 2018
Remove and discard skin, lemon under skin and bones.

— meghan overdeep, Southern Living, "Whatever You Do, Do NOT Tell Ina Garten About Jennifer Garner’s Favorite Soup Hack," 22 May 2018
The high score is discarded while the scores of the other five golfers are added to obtain the team score.

— joe naiman, Ramona Sentinel, "Bulldogs lose close match to San Pasqual," 23 Apr. 2018
Among those taken out of the machine, only 16 were discarded, and 121 were put inside patients.

— eric boodman, STAT, "A ‘breakthrough in organ preservation’: Study shows keeping livers warm helps preserve them for transplant," 18 Apr. 2018
A few days later, the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department discarded the coveralls without testing them.

— latimes.com, "'They framed me': On death row for decades, Kevin Cooper pushes for new DNA tests in Chino Hills murders," 8 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'discard.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of discard

circa 1586

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

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discard Synonyms

Phrases

dispose of, set aside;

Synonym Discussion of discard

discard, cast, shed, slough, scrap, junk mean to get rid of. discard implies the letting go or throwing away of something that has become useless or superfluous though often not intrinsically valueless.